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SoCal woman guilty of $359 million fraud targeting federal healthcare program

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

A Glendale woman was convicted of a $359 million fraud scheme targeting federal healthcare programs.The woman was identified as Lourdes Navarro, 64, by the U.S. Attorney’s Office.Navarro pleaded guilty to collecting millions by fraudulently submitting claims to government and private insurance programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, her claims involved “expensive and medically unnecessary respiratory pathogen panel (RPP) tests,” officials said.From June 2020 to April 2022, Navarro and an accomplice, Imran Shams, conducted screening tests to identify patients infected with COVID-19. They obtained nasal swab samples from staff and residents at a variety of places including nursing homes, assisted living facilities, rehabilitation facilities, and students and staff at local schools.With those collected samples, Matias Clinical Laboratory, dba Health Care Providers Laboratory, performed RPP tests on the samples, despite only being ordered to test for COVID-19. Navarro ...

Human remains found in Thousand Oaks park identified

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

Human remains discovered in a Thousand Oaks ravine earlier this month have been identified on Thursday.The remains belong to Taylor Beck Thompson, 36, of Thousand Oaks, according to the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.Thompson’s body was found by a hiker at the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve on Sept. 25. As the hiker traveled in the open space located between the Arroyo Conejo Nature Preserve and the 1900 block of Roadrunner Avenue, that's when he spotted the remains in a ravine.Authorities from the Sheriff’s Major Crimes Bureau, Forensic Services Bureau, and the Medical Examiner’s Office responded to the scene to investigate, confirming the remains belonged to a decomposed human.Investigators later identified the remains as Thompson, who had been reported missing in September. Thompson’s cause of death remains under investigation by the Medical Examiner’s Office. Anyone with information is asked to call Ventura County Sergeant Albert Ramirez at 805-384-4761.

Puffcon Rocks DTLA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

Puffcon was an absolute smash this year. Even the line was crazy. It wrapped from the corner of South Bixel and West Maryland all the way around the block to Sixth Street and South Beaudry. You could see tons of little clouds that lined the block as the 6,000 hash enthusiasts in attendance last Saturday waited, not too long, to join in on the festivities. Once you made it through the gates, you were greeted with a few hundred yards of some of the best companies in the game. The 40 exhibitors came in the best form. Many had special offerings they’d been planning for months, be it merchandise, hash or flower. But hopefully you got there early! A lot of the biggest names sold out of everything.Kevin Chapman, Puffco’s director of events, was obviously thrilled for arguably their biggest and best event yet. “I’m so proud of the community coming together to celebrate the plant at Puffcon 2023,” Chapman told L.A. Weekly. “Attendees started lining up at 7 a.m., to get in the doo...

U.S. Sen. Feinstein remembered as “American hero” during memorial at San Francisco City Hall

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO — At the memorial service for the late U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein held on the steps of City Hall — where tragedy propelled her into the national spotlight four decades ago — she was heralded by President Biden as an “American hero,” by Vice President Kamala Harris as “an icon of California,” and by former Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi as San Francisco’s “forever mayor.”Perhaps most poignant of all during the ceremony Thursday were the remarks of Feinstein’s granddaughter, Eileen Mariano, who recounted a family story that on the day she was born, her grandmother bragged she looked just like her. Now, Mariano, who retains the resemblance, is making a career for herself working for San Francisco Mayor London Breed.“She showed young women everywhere that they can be leaders,” she said, “they can make an impact, and they deserve a seat at the table.”San Francisco Mayor London Breed, left, Vice President Kamala Harris, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schum...

AP Week in Pictures: Global | Sept. 29-Oct. 5, 2023

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

Former U.S. President Donald Trump attended the start of his civil business fraud trial in New York, Jewish men took part in priestly blessing during the week-long holiday of Sukkot in Jerusalem’s Old City, and Lebanese-Armenian protesters in Ain Aar, Lebanon, denounced the Azerbaijani military offensive that recaptured Nagorno-Karabakh. In sports, Argentina’s Gaston Togni is injured on the pitch after a rough play during a semifinal soccer match in Buenos Aires.This photo gallery highlights some of the most compelling images from around the world made or published by the Associated Press in the past week.The selection was curated by AP photo editor Subramoney Iyer in New Delhi, India.Follow AP visual journalism:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/apnewsAP Images on Twitter: http://twitter.com/AP_ImagesAP Images blog: http://apimagesblog.com/Source

Colorado funeral home with ‘green’ burials under investigation after improperly stored bodies found

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

PENROSE, Colo. (AP) — Authorities in Colorado said Thursday they were investigating the improper storage of human remains at a funeral home that performs “green” burials without embalming chemicals or metal caskets.The investigation centers on a building owned by the Return to Nature Funeral Home outside Colorado Springs in the small town of Penrose.Deputies were called to the single-story building Tuesday night in reference to a suspicious incident. Investigators returned the next day with a search warrant and found the improperly stored remains, the Fremont County Sheriff’s Office said. The number of human remains found and their condition were not specified.The sheriff’s office said it was working with state and federal officials on the investigation. Family members who used the funeral home were asked to contact the sheriff’s office. More details were expected to be released by officials at a scheduled news conference Friday morning. Trash bags could be seen Thursday outsi...

Sarah Gallagher wins US Senior Women’s Amateur, beating Brenda Corrie Kuehn 1-up

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. (AP) — Sarah Gallagher won the U.S. Senior Women’s Amateur, beating Brenda Corrie Kuehn 1-up on Thursday at Troon Country Club.The 50-year-old Gallagher, a sixth-grade social studies teacher from Canton, Georgia, won with a 5-foot bogey putt for a halve on the final hole.“I hit a lot of 5-foot putts when I practice, so I just was trying to talk to myself that this is just like every day,” Gallagher said.The 58-year-old Kuehn is from Asheville, North Carolina.___AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golfSource

¿Quieres ser el próximo presidente de la Cámara? Así es como podrías serlo

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

La destitución del representante Kevin McCarthy como presidente, a instancias de su propio partido, dejó a la Cámara sin un líder o un sucesor claro del republicano de California.“¿Y ahora qué?”, gritó alguien en la Cámara después de que se contó la votación para deponer a McCarthy. Era la primera vez que un presidente de la Cámara era destituido de su cargo.Dos republicanos se han propuesto, los representantes Steve Scalise, de Louisiana,y Jim Jordan, de Ohio, pero el nombre de Donald Trump también ha sido mencionado. Aunque el expresidente y favorito del Partido Republicano para 2024 no anuló por completo la sugerencia, sí dijo que estaba concentrado en la presidencia.“Mucha gente me ha estado llamando por el tema del presidente de la Cámara”, dijo Trump el miércoles. “Todo lo que puedo decir es que haremos lo que sea mejor para el país y para el Partido Republicano”.Pero ¿podría siquiera convertirse en presidente de la Cámara? A continuación se detallan lo...

Hyo Joo Kim shoots 64 in Texas to take 2-stroke lead in The Ascendant LPGA

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

THE COLONY, Texas (AP) — Hyo Joo Kim took the first-round lead Thursday in The Ascendant LPGA, breaking away at Old American with a back-nine birdie run in a 7-under 64.Kim, the 28-year-old South Korean player ranked No. 7 in the world, had a two-stroke lead over Azahara Munoz of Spain, Sofia Garcia of Paraguay and Yu-Sang Hou of Taiwan. Sarah Kemp of Australia and American Marina Alex followed at 67.Kim had eight birdies and a bogey in her afternoon round. After a bogey on the par-3 11th, she birdied Nos. 13-16 and parred the final two.“My putting hasn’t been good, so I hadn’t been able to hit low scores,” Kim said. “But my putting worked really well for the first time in a while, so I was able to hit low scores and it was a satisfying day.”The five-time LPGA Tour winner has eight top-10 finishes this season without a victory.“It’s good that I’m on top of the leaderboard often, but it’s disappointing that I’m not at the top at the end of the week,” Kim said. “I really want to stay ...

Venezuela emite orden de aprehensión contra Guaidó, anuncia el fiscal general

Published Thu, 20 Feb 2025 11:11:54 GMT

(CNN) –– Las autoridades de Venezuela emitieron una orden de arresto contra Juan Guaidó, exlíder de la oposición y expresidente de la Asamblea Nacional venezolana, anunció este jueves el fiscal general del país, Tarek William Saab.Durante una conferencia de prensa en Caracas, Saab dijo que Guaidó “usó recursos” de la estatal petrolera PDVSA “para financiarse, pagar sus gastos legales, y obligó a PDVSA a aceptar sus términos de refinanciamiento”.El fiscal añadió que “estas decisiones causaron pérdidas a la nación por US$ 19.000 millones, y han resultado en la pérdida casi definitiva de Citgo”, una filial de PDVSA que Saab definió como “el activo más importante de Venezuela en el extranjero”.“Por este motivo hemos abierto una nueva investigación contra el exdiputado Juan Guaidó, y hemos solicitado una orden de aprehensión en su contra”, añadió. Saab también sostuvo que se solicitará una alerta roja de la Interpol contra Guaid...